Apparatus for operating a pivoted member



March 27, 1956 J. H. ORR

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING A PIVOTED MEMBER Filed June 26, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 1 March 27, 1956 ORR 2,739,484-

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING A PIVOTED MEMBER Filed June 26, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 2 .w/wsw United States Patent APPARATUS FOR OPERATING APIVOTED MENBER John Hewitt Orr, Coventry, England, assignor to CarbodiesLimited, Coventry, England Application June 26, 1953, Serial No. 364,396

Claims priority, application Great Britain August 14, 1952 4 Claims.(CI. 74-99) The invention relates to an apparatus for reversibly moving,between extreme positions, a pivoted member (e. g., an arm of amechanism for raising and lowering a window or a foldable head of amotor car) about its pivotal axis.

According to the invention, the apparatus includes a bell-crank leverpivoted from the member on a parallel axis and having one of its armsconnected to be acted upon by a double-acting hydraulic piston andcylinder arrangement, the other arm of the bell-crank being connected bya link to a stationary part which the member approaches (or recedesfrom, as appropriate) during the pivotal movement, the said other armand link having coacting means for preventing the said arrangement fromrelatively moving them in one direction beyond an over centre positioncorresponding with one of the extreme positions of the member, and thelink becoming orientated, by movement of the said other arm in thereverse direction, to arrest the reverse movement when the memberreaches its other extreme position.

For avoiding any reverse movement of the piston and cylinde arrangementwhen the said other arm and link move from an aligned position to theover centre position, the connection of the link to the stationary partcan be by a pin and slot, the slot being of a suflicient length toaccommodate the change in the effective combined lengths of the saidother arm and link when moving from the aligned to the over centreposition.

In the drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention appliedto a pivoted window of a motor car body:

Figure l is a side elevation, with parts broken away for disclosing theapparatus, of a mid-portion of a motor car body;

Figures 2 and 3 are enlarged side elevations of the apparatus andrespectively showing the latter operated to the positions in which thewindow is closed and fully open; and

Figure 4 is a section, to an enlarged scale, on the line 4-4 of Figurel.

In Figure l is shown a portion 11 of a motor car body provided with asector-shaped window 12 which is pivotally supported at 13 in rear of adoor 14. The window includes a frame 15 which works in a guiding grooveof the body, and fast with the bottom member of the frame (e. g., byweldingnot shown) is a channel member 16 in which works a roller 17 atthe top of a pivoted member 13, a stub axle 19 for the roller extendingoutwardly between in-turned lips 20, 20 at one lateral side of thechannel member.

The pivoted member 18 is part of a mechanism for raising and loweringthe window and, when the latter is closed, extends generally upwardly,having a pivotal connection 21 at its foot with a stationary part (e.g., a bracket 22 fast with the motor car body (as shown)).

An unequal bell-crank lever (see Figures 2 and 3) is pivoted at 23 tothe member 18 remotely from the pivotal connection 21, and its longerarm 24 is pivoted at 25 to 2,739,484 Patented Mar. 27, 1956 "ice one endof a link 26. i The other end of the latter has a laterally-extendingpin 27 working in a slot 28 (shown very much exaggerated for the sake ofclearness) of the bracket 22, and the pin has a locating nut 29 on itsextending end. The arm 24 of the bell-crank lever has a lateralprojection 30 forming an abutment for the link for holding them in anover centre position, as shown by Figure 2, in which they extend more orless at rightangles from the pivoted member 18 when the window isclosed. In fact, the arm 24 and the link 26 form'a toggle of which thecommon pivot'25 can just pass over centre in the one extreme position,as shown by Figure 2.

A piston and cylinder arrangement 31, 32, which is approximatelyparallel to the arm 24 and link 26 when the window is closed, is pivotedat 33, at one end, to the bracket 22 and at 34, at its other end, to theshorter arm 35 of the bell-crank lever.

Conveniently, and as shown, the bracket 22 has flanges by which it ismade fast, as by spot welding, to internal flanges 36 and 37 of thebody.

For opening the window the piston and cylinder arrangement is contractedand this turns the bell-crank lever for folding its longer arm 24 andthe link 26 towards each other in the direction away from their overcentre position, to the position shown in Figure 3. In the latter itwill be seen that when the window is fully opened the link and the arm24 are approximately at right-angles to each other, and the link thusprevents further rotation of the bell-crank by the piston and cylinderarrangement.

It will be seen that by the invention the pivoted member 18 can beoperated to either extreme position and that the pin and slot connection27, 28 enables the link and arm 24 to pass over centre without involvingany accommodating reverse movement of the piston and cylinderarrangement. Moreover it will also be seen that if leakage of thehydraulic fluid should occur, or its temperature change, the piston andcylinder arrangement cannot move correspondingly when the pivoted member18 is in either extreme position, owing to the locking eifect of thebell-crank and link.

What I claim as my invention and desire Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. The combination with a member which is pivoted on a stationary partand is movable between extreme positions, of a bell crank lever pivotedupon the member about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of themember, a hydraulic device of the piston and cylinder type which ispivoted at one end to one arm of the bell crank lever and is pivoted atthe other end to said stationary part, the other arm of the bell cranklever being pivoted at its end to a link which is pivoted upon the saidstationary part by means of a pin and slot connection which will allowthe said other arm and link to pass over centre when the hydraulicdevice is moving said member to one extreme position without thehydraulic device having to reverse to accommodate such movement, andmeans for limiting the extent to which said other arm and said link canpass over centre, said other arm and link being substantially parallelto said hydraulic device when moved over centre as aforesaid, and beingsubstantially at rightangles to one another in the other extremeposition of said member whereby to limit the movement of said membertowards said other extreme position.

2. The combination with a member which is pivoted on a stationary partand is movable between extreme positions, of a bell crank lever withlong and short arms pivoted upon the member about an axis parallel tothe pivotal axis of the member, a hydraulic device of the piston andcylinder type which is pivoted at one end to said short arm of the bellcrank lever and is pivoted at the other end to said stationary part,said long arm of the bell crank lever being pivoted at its end to a linkto secure by which is. pivoted upon. the. said stationary part, andmeans for limiting the extent to which said long arm and said. link canpass over centre.

3. The combination with a member which is pivoted On, a Stationary partand is movable between extreme positions, of a bell crank lever withlong: and short arms. pivoted upon the member about an axis parallel tothe pivotal axis of the member, a, hydraulic device of the piston andcylinder type which is pivoted at one end, to said: short arm of thebell crank lever and is pivoted at the other end to said stationarypart, said long arm of the bell crank lever being pivoted at its end toa link which is pivoted upon the said stationary part, and means forlimiting the. extent to which said long arm and said link can, pass overcentre, said long arm and link being substantially parallel to saidhydraulic device When in one extreme position of said member, and beingsubstantially at right-angles to one another in the other extremeposition of said member.

4. The combination with a member which is pivoted on a stationary partand is movable between extreme positions, of a bell crank lever pivotedupon the member b t an parallel to, the pivotal axis of the member,

a hydraulic device of the piston and cylinder type which is pivoted atone end to one arm of the bell crank lever and is pivoted at the otherend to said stationary part, the other arm of the bell crank lever beingpivoted at its end to a link which is pivoted upon the said stationarypart by means of a pin and slot connection which will allow the saidother arm and link to pass over centre when the hydraulic device ismoving said 'member to one extreme position without the, hydraulicdevice having to. reverse to accommodate such movement, and means forlimiting the extent to which said other arm and said link can pass overcentre.

References Cited. inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,421,153 Kinne May 27, 1947 2,475,985 Parsons July 12, 1949 2,533,338Weingarten- Dec. 12', 1950

